Today I broke my cardinal rule of buying designer shoes. And the rule is: if you’re going to throw down a lot of cash for a pair of heels, make sure they won’t ever go out of style. In other words, buy simple, buy black. Give or take a slight variation in trend (round toe, pointy toe, wedge, platform,stiletto) this rule will always give you your money’s worth and never leave you with a sinking case of buyer’s remorse.

But I did not follow my rule today. Barney’s didn’t have my size in the shoes I wanted: Christian Louboutin’s Decolette stiletto pump in black satin. Seeing my

face fall, the clerk jumped to attention. “Hold on a minute, let me see if I can get them for you” and, I’m sure fearing no commission, she went scurrying back to the anals of Barney’s shoe-dom. It was then, as I sat there rolling my eyes, swinging my feet back and forth and willing myself not to forget to validate my parking that I spotted the same pump I’d had my heart set on, on

ly it wasn’t black, it was NUDE; a soft, blushy pink nude, not quite champaign, not quite beige. Blush. Surprise, it was my size! I p

ut it on and limped to the mirror. The curtain lifted, birds chirped, violins were singing. I loved it!

The color of the leather blended with my skin tone which delightfully elongated my legs. The shoes were hot. But what to do? I’d never owned nude heels before. What could I wear them with? Fearing an impulse buy, I turned to the sales clerk who’d returned, out of breath, eyes wide, face desperately questioning ‘What’d I miss?’. “I’ll take these!” I burst out, and then immediately wanted to clap my hand over my mouth. I wanted them, that was for sure, but this was so unlike me, so unabashedly risky! Then a girl walked up to where I was in front of the mirror. “Those shoes are hot on you!” she gushed. “You can wear them with anything! They’re so original!” Hmmm. I was never one to turn away the opinions of others. So,against my better judgement I said to myself: what the hell, take a risk, buy the blushy nude stilettos! And I did.

When I got home, I immediately tried them on with everything I own. Here’s what I found. You can wear nude heels with anything black, and it automatically gives your outfit a zing. You can pair them with jeans, skinny preferably. You’ll kill at a party if you wear them with black cigarette pants and a black tube top. They also compliment other colors, including white. The possibilities are endless. Honestly, I may never buy black heels again!

Well, that’s not entirely true. Barney’s just called. Someone just returned a pair of Louboutin Decolette heels in my size. They’re black.